The Hindu       22.11.2016  

Rs.30 crore in property tax collected in just 10 days

Property tax collection by the three municipal corporations has increased by up to five times in the past 10 days compared to the same period last year, thanks to the withdrawn Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 notes being accepted for payment.

After the high-denomination notes were scrapped, the municipal corporations announced that they would accept the old notes for payment of all taxes and charges, as per the Centre’s exemption policy till November 24.

From November 11 till now, a total of Rs. 29.47 crore in property tax has been collected by the corporations.

For the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), which has collected Rs.14.5 crore in property tax and Rs.3 crore in conversion charges from November 11 till Monday, the collections have gone up five fold.

Last year, from November 8 to 21, the SDMC had collected Rs.2.4 crore. On Monday alone, the SDMC collected about Rs.2 crore.

“In fact, we have added 5,300 new taxpayers to our base in these 10 days,” said an SDMC spokesperson.

The cash-strapped North and East Delhi civic bodies have also seen an increase in their collection.

Best months

The East Delhi Municipal Corporation, which collected Rs.2 crore from November 8 to 18 last year, collected Rs.7 crore during the same period this year. The North Delhi Municipal Corporation collected Rs.7.97 crore from November 11-20 this year.

According to officials, the demonetisation effect coupled with the amnesty scheme for defaulters announced last week may lead to November and December being the best months for collection.